AN: Hi folks! So, this is a really long fic so I won't take too much of your time with long author's notes. I just wanted to give a shout out to charlotteprentiss, because her story 'We are family' was the initial inspiration for this story. I read it and fell in love with the idea of Declan living with Emily, and then my natural predisposition for EmilyRossi kicked in and before I knew it, this bad boy had practically written itself! I'm actually really proud of it, so I hope you guys enjoy it. It's so much more than I thought it would be, but I like the way it turned out.
Oh, on another note, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed 'Seal of Approval' and 'Home'! I didn't think they would be as well received as they were, and the reviews have been so wonderful. =) I really appreciate them, and when I'm not drowning in assignments, I promise I will respond to all the reviews. =) I'm not ungrateful, just dying of homework. xD And because I've seen the requests for a sequel, I've begun brainstorming for one for 'Seal of Approval'. RossiPrentiss will always be my OTP where Emily is concerned, but EmilyMorgan is a nice change of pace. =)
Enjoy 'Impulsive', and feel free to let me know what you think of it! I added a dash of ReidHotch because I love them, so hopefully you enjoy that too. xD This is to be considered a sequel to 'Home', because of how often I reference it, but could be read separately. I haven't seen the episodes yet, so any errors are mine alone.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, I just play with them for my own amusement. But I wish I owned Reid and Hotch and the gang... Oh, how I wish I did. Enjoy!
Normally, David Rossi considered his impulsive nature to be a bonus. It didn't come out often, but when it did, he rarely regretted it. Usually it wound up giving him ample black mail material (mostly on Aaron. The man had an ego the size of the French Riviera and when Dave proposed any stunt as a dare, no matter how ridiculous, Aaron wouldn't back down. Typical Alpha male.) This time? This time, he was regretting it in a big way.
He was standing on the steps of Emily's brownstone, his hands sweating as he looked at the door buzzer. There were several reasons why he shouldn't have been there, not the least of which was the latest bombshell dropped on him via Miss Prentiss. Declan Doyle – Excuse him, Prentiss -, the son of the man who did everything in his power to leave her for dead, was living with her in DC. Rossi could still remember how his day had been going before she'd walked into the office with the thirteen year old earlier that morning.
He'd been leaning against Morgan's desk with Reid beside him, the young genius and former replacement SSAIC having a lively debate about whether or not boxing was a real sport. (It was the first time he'd ever seen Reid talk about sports, and also the first time he'd seen Morgan beat Reid in an argument.). Hotch was in his office, standing by his desk and speaking quite tersely to whoever was on the other end of his phone (He'd bet it was Strauss. Only she could put that deep a glare onto Hotch's face.), and JJ and Garcia were sitting at Emily's empty desk, quietly discussing plans for Reid's birthday. He had glanced at Emily's desk, then at the clock.
He wasn't obsessing or anything, but Emily was supposed to have arrived back in DC an hour and a half earlier. Taking into account traffic and possible coffee stops on the way back from the airport, she still should have been back at the office at least twenty minutes before. She'd taken a week off to go close up her affairs in Europe, and though the team was reluctant to let her go out of lingering paranoia, she'd promised them that she would be back in a week, safe and sound. (Dave had every confidence in her ability, and in her promise, but he'd still gone home that night and called the airline to reserve a red eye flight out to Emily's Paris apartment if the team hadn't heard from her by the third day.)
As if she was reading his mind, he heard the familiar click of heels from outside the office, and moments later Emily walked in the door. She was smiling and holding a duffel bag in her hand, and a young boy was walking next to her, his hand holding onto her free one. Silence descended upon the office and you could have heard a pin drop while the profilers in the room exchange puzzled glances at the boy. Emily looked at her team and smiled.
"Morning, guys.", Emily greeted, smiling at the team. "I've got someone I'd like you to meet."
"Emily, welcome back!", Garcia responded while the rest of the team gave their greetings. Rossi's eyes weer on the boy holding Emily's hand and almost hiding behind her. He looked about thirteen if Dave was any judge, and it took a moment for it to click in, but when he saw the boy's eyes, he knew who this kid was. Declan Doyle was in teh BAU bullpen. Dave had a very bad feeling about this.
"Who's this?", Morgan asked.
"Everybody, I'd like to introduce you to Declan Prentiss.", she announced, bringing a smile and a blush to the young boy's face while the jaws of the profilers around her dropped.
"Prentiss?", Morgan asked, clearly confused.
"My son.", Emily acknowledge, then laughed at the baffled expressions on the team's faces.
"Uh, I think we've missed something here.", JJ said slowly, still trying to put two and two together.
Emily laughed then launched into the explanation, which had gone back to just after her faked death. She had gone to Europe both because she could start a new life there while she hid from Doyle, and because she knew Declan would be somewhere near there and she wanted to keep him close to her in case Doyle came after his son. During her time in France, she'd used some of Strauss' CIA contacts and tracked Declan down in a little town to the east of Paris. She'd made the day trip and after a considerable explanation to the boy's foster family, reintroduced herself. Declan, though he'd only been a child when 'Lauren' had left, had remembered her instantly, and she'd explained who she was and why she'd been known as Lauren when she'd met him. He'd been living with distant relatives of Doyle in Ireland, and when they'd moved to France after Doyle got out of prison, they'd changed their name to protect the boy from his psychopath of a father.
Emily had moved in down the street from them and built a solid relationship with the boy who could have been her step son. Unfortunately, she told them, Doyle had gotten back in contact with some of his old friends before the team caught him and put him away for good, and Declan's family was being hunted. His father – who had actually been a distant cousin of Ian's– had been involved in a suspicious car accident two weeks after Emily's return to the BAU, and the cousin's wife had called Emily in hysterics. Emily had gone to Strauss and her mother and demanded that they do something to protect Declan. When Ambassador Prentiss washed her hands of the subject due the virtual political nightmare it would cause, Emily turned on Strauss and proposed that they bring Declan over to the US where he could be protected.
It had been a nightmare, of red tape and bureaucratic bull, but in the end, Strauss had pulled it off and Emily was given the okay to bring Declan to the US with the proviso that she was solely responsible for his well being. Emily, standing in front of her horrified mother, had gone one step further and offered to adopt the boy as her own son – Strauss had been leery of it, and her mother had adamantly opposed it, but Emily had argued that the boy had almost been her step son when he was a toddler, so if she made it official, so much the better.
Four months later, after a considerable effort on the part of Emily and Strauss to get around the road blocks put up by her mother, the adoption went through and Emily had flown back to pick up Declan and bring him to his new, permanent home. Silence stretched around them and Rossi felt like he'd just been sucker punched as he looked at the newly appointed mother and son. He knew Emily would make a fantastic mom, but there was just one question.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Garcia beat her to it, and it was then that Rossi noticed the looks of hurt worn by the other members of the team. Emily's smile fell, and he noted that the change brought alarm to Declan's young face, and that he clutched her hand tighter.
"I-", Emily started to explain.
"I asked her not to.", Declan spoke up quickly, his voice heavy with an Irish accent.
"Declan-", Emily began.
"No, mom." The word 'mom' brought a smile to Emily's face, and to JJ's and Garcia's. He turned to the other members of the team. "Please don't be mad at her. I asked her not to tell you."
"Why? We could have found someway to help Emily bring you over here more quickly.", Reid wondered. Declan shuffled his feet where he stood, then looked at Emily. She gave him an encouraging nod, a kind of non-verbal, 'You volunteered, now you need to go through with the explanation'. Declan sighed, then looked at the team.
"I... I was afraid you'd take me away from her if you knew.", he said quietly. "I know I'm not her real son, but as far as I'm concerned, she's been my mom since her name was Lauren. She's the only one who's always tried to protect me... She almost died to keep me safe from him."
"Dec...", Emily gasped. Rossi didn't think it was a far stretch to imagine that the two had avoided any and all mention of Ian Doyle.
"Well, you did. He wanted to know where I was and you wouldn't tell him because you knew he'd hurt me.", Declan told her. "I always knew about him, my cousins told me when I was old enough to understand. I just.. I don't get it."
"Don't get what, Declan?", JJ asked. The teenager looked warily at her, then to Emily.
"Why didn't you let him find me? You could have saved yourself and your team from so much pain..."
"I wouldn't let him hurt you, Declan. You've been my son as much as I've been your mom since you were a kid.", Emily promised him, pulling the teenager into a hug. "And come hell or high water, this Prentiss will always protect her family."
"And now you've got a new family. If you want one.", Garcia offered, smiling at the still obviously nervous teenager. He smiled back slightly, then nodded. Garcia's smile grew wider, and she pounced into action. "I'm Penelope Garcia, but if you want, you can call me aunt Penny. Most of the kids around here do. And this is Jennifer Jareau – We call her JJ, Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner, but we call him Hotch, Derek Morgan and David Rossi."
The rapid influx of information seemed to make Declan's head spin, and Emily put her hands on the boy's shaking shoulders. His face looked so much like Doyle's, but there was obvious fear in his eyes. "Dec, it's okay. These people are family. They will never hurt you.", Emily promised, smiling at the timid thirteen year old.
"What about you?", Declan asked.
"They're family.", Emily reiterated. "They'd do anything to protect me, and you. Just like I would do for them."
"... Okay. There are other kids?", Declan asked.
"There's my son, Henry. He's two.", JJ spoke up. "And Hotch's son Jack, who's turning seven. And all of Garcia's nieces and nephews."
Before Declan knew what was happening, he was knee deep in a whole new family, one that fought the bad guys instead of becoming them. Emily and Declan stayed in the office for the rest of the day, the new mom telling her son all about the work they did and reinforcing the fact in everyone's mind that Declan was there to stay and was a new part of the family.
Rossi had been silent through the entire show, and at the end of the night when Emily and Declan left for home, he knew that sometime in the not so distant future, he'd be making a potentially stupid impulsive decision. He'd exchanged puzzled looks with Aaron as the new mom and son left the bullpen, Emily discussing what she was going to make for dinner and Declan making random suggestions, and the SSAIC shrugged.
"She'll be a good mom.", Hotch decided, his arms over his chest.
"She will, at that.", Rossi agreed, his throat sticking shut on any other words. Hotch gave him a knowing look and not for the first time, he cursed his oldest friend's profiler instincts.
"This could make things a little awkward for you though.", Hotch commented.
"How so?" Rossi had never been one to run from what he didn't want to admit, but right then, he was running hard for the hills.
"Dave." Aaron gave him a, 'Come on, are we really going to drag this out?' type look, and Rossi sighed. He'd known admitting how he felt about Emily to Hotch was a bad idea, but he'd gone and done it anyway. At least then he'd had the comfort of knowing he had something equally damning on Hotch, but now, that seemed more a liability than anything. Aaron had at least said something to the young genius; Rossi had remained silent in the face of telling Emily.
"Aaron." Rossi flicked his eyes towards the young genius who was deep in conversation with JJ over whether or not they should hold a party so Declan could get used to Henry and Jack and being a part of their family. Aaron glared at Rossi, who smirked.
"Not the issue at hand here, Dave.", Aaron told him quietly. "When are you going to tell her?"
"She has a son, Aaron." Rossi knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment he said it.
"So do I, but I still said something." Aaron was giving him that stupid look, the look he always got whenever he was about to appeal to Dave's impulsive side and get him to do something, well, stupid. Rossi hated that look because he always wound up falling right into whatever trap Aaron had set for him.
"But you knew he at least felt the same. Emily..." Emily Prentiss was something of an enigma to him, and while part of him wanted to figure her out, the rest of him loved the mystery.
"Dave...", Hotch sighed, the rubbed his eyes. "I might regret saying this, but there is something you should know."
Rossi's eyebrow rose as he looked at his friend. "You're not about to tell me that you're going to fake your own death, are you?"
Hotch glared at him. "No. What I was going to say was that Chief Strauss came to me the day after Emily left, and-"
"Dear God, and you survived with your eyes intact?", Rossi joked, seeing the reluctant smirk pull onto Hotch's face. "What, did she try to blame you for burning the crops and stealing the family cow?"
"Can we be serious here, please?", Hotch asked, trying and failing not to smile. "Strauss came to me to tell me that Emily had asked her for a two week vacation before she came to me to ask for the week off."
"Why would she do that? You're her unit chief.", Rossi asked, puzzled.
"Because she wanted Strauss to approve not only her vacation request, but one for you as well."
The words hit Rossi like a two by four. Rossi stood and stared at his best friend for a moment, and when his mind cleared, the only logical thought he could vocalize was, "What?"
"Emily wanted you to accompany her to Europe to pick up Declan.", Hotch spelled out. "She meant for it to be a surprise, but there was no way Strauss could okay two agents from the same team going on an impromptu two week trip to Paris, regardless of what they were going for."
"Why the hell not?", Rossi demanded, his eyes wide. Emily had wanted him to go with her to get Declan? His mind was reeling from the implications alone. "Frigid dragon she-bitch..."
"Focus.", Hotch reminded him, smirking at the indignation on his friend's face. "Do you see now why I think you should maybe run after Emily and tell her how you feel?"
"I can't just – What about Declan?", Rossi asked, grasping at straws here. He wanted to do as Hotch suggested. Really, really wanted to. But Emily was now the mother of a very traumatized and uprooted teenager, who was clinging to her because she was the only stable and safe thing in his life just then. He probably wouldn't react too kindly to someone like Rossi (who may or may not have sent his dad to prison with a broken nose and injured eye...) coming to his new home in the middle of the night and telling his mother in no uncertain terms that he was in love with her and wanted to be with her as long as his heart continued to beat.
"He needs a good father figure, Dave. Whether you admit it or not, you would be a good dad.", Hotch acknowledged. "And when the teenage angst hits, Emily will have her hands full so she'll need someone to lean on in a more personal way than she could the team."
He wasn't sure which part of that statement amused him more – Hearing Hotch say that he would be a good father, or the idea that Emily Prentiss could be overwhelmed with a thing as trivial as teenage angst, whatever the hell that actually was. Although, considering the amount of times he'd seen sons emulate their fathers even though they hadn't met them, chances were that Hotch was right and Emily would have her hands full. If Declan was half the manipulator that Ian had been, she could need all the help she could get. There was only so far that nurture could take you; nature played just as big a part in human development, and unfortunately, Ian Doyle had been a solid forty miles of bad road. It would be pathetically naive not to think some of that would have seeped into his son.
"You really think this is a good idea, Aaron?", Dave asked.
"I think team mingling is never a good idea, ever.", Hotch answered, then shrugged with an unconscious glance to the genius who was watching him and Rossi talking out of the corner of his eye. "But we're human, and whether we want to believe it or not, we can't control who we fall in love with. At this point, damage control is the best move we can make."
"So, if I was to be late tomorrow morning, you would...?", Rossi prompted, pulling a smirk from his friend.
"I would hand your ass to Strauss on a silver platter, just like I would anyone else.", Hotch answered. "Of course, if you happened to sneak in when my back was conveniently turned, I would have no grounds for such a complaint."
It was as much of an out as his friend could give him, and Rossi was thankful for it. "I'll keep it in mind. Now for God's sake, loosen your tie, grab your boy genius and go home to your son. I have more important things to do than stand here with you after hours." Hotch's laughter and Reid's confused questioning followed Rossi out the door after he said goodnight to JJ, Morgan and Garcia.
All of these events lead to Rossi standing outside Emily's house, his hands sweating as he stared at her door. He gulped nervously then frowned at himself. 'Get a grip, Rossi.', he told himself. 'Best case scenario you get a wonderful woman and a new son. Worse comes to worse, you can brush this off as being concerned for a co-worker after a major adjustment in her life.' He'd never hoped for the best case scenario more in his life as he rang the door bell.
Moments later, he heard Emily call, 'Coming!', and after a few more moments, the woman herself appeared wearing an FBI t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She smiled at him through the glass and opened the door. "Dave, hi. I wasn't expecting company. What brings you here?"
"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by to see how you and Declan were doing.", Rossi explained, using the oldest response in the book for when you stopped by a potential love interest's residence without calling first. He'd hoped he'd be more original when he got to this stage of the game, but what can you do?
Emily seemed to know this was a ruse, or so the suspicion in her eyes told him, but she smiled nonetheless and opened the door for him to walk in. "Well, thank you. Dec and I are doing fine, just getting dinner ready actually.", Emily explained, closing the door behind him. Rossi glanced around and saw the tell-tale signs of the presence of a teenager; clothes already scattered everywhere, running shoes in the entry way, and punk music in what he was pretty sure was Gaelic coming from the kitchen.
"I won't keep you long, I just wanted to make sure you were both settling in okay.", Rossi answered. Disappointment flashed across Emily's face, but at almost the same time, a knowing look struck across her face, and an irrational burst of panic flared to life in his stomach.
"We're fine. You were worried about us, weren't you?", Emily asked, a knowing smile creeping across her face. Dave would deny until his dying day that he blushed, but it did suddenly get much warmer in that hallway.
"Not worried, per say.", he hedged awkwardly. Victory surged into Emily's eyes and Rossi wondered if it was possible for a grown man to die of embarrassment. He'd have to ask Reid the next time he saw him. "I was-"
"Dave, would you like to stay for dinner? Get to know Declan? We've got more than enough.", Emily asked, hiding the amusement rather well behind her smile. Rossi smiled back.
"As long as I'm not intruding...", Rossi accepted, then kicked off his shoes.
Emily laughed, accepting his coat and hanging it next to her's and Declan's on the wall by the door. "Not at all. Family, remember? Dec, can you set another place at the table for me? We've got a visitor for dinner."
He heard the vague shout of affirmation from the kitchen, then the sound of a cupboard opening. He turned back to Emily, trying to ignore how very domestic and right this all felt. "He's adjusting well for his first night in a strange place.", Rossi commented as the two walked.
He glanced to his side at the photos on the wall. There were images of the entire team, as well as many with only Emily, JJ and Garcia on what he assumed were their many nights out on the town. A new photo had been hung next to one of many group shots, and it showed a much younger Emily holding a smiling toddler in her arms. It looked like there had been someone else in the picture but they'd been cut out entirely, and it didn't take someone of Rossi's IQ to figure out who that person had been. Interestingly enough, he noted there were no images of Ambassador Prentiss to be seen.
Emily knew he was profiling the pictures on her wall, but smiled indulgently when he returned his eyes to her. "When Dec was little, I used to baby sit him when Doyle was gone. As he got older, I got him to help me in the kitchen a little bit, just enough to get him used to doing his own cooking so he wouldn't be completely unprepared if and when his father left him. It was just... reflex to get him to come help me make dinner.", Emily explained, smiling at the picture.
"You sound happy.", Rossi noted.
"I am, I really am. Ever since I left Doyle, I've worried about Declan. I knew he was in danger as long as Doyle was on the loose, but I thought as long as I kept his existence a secret, he would be safe.", Emily sighed. "The road to hell really is paved with good intentions, huh?"
Rossi laughed. "But now he will be safe. He's got our entire team to protect him now, and a new mom who loves him."
"I've loved him since he was a baby.", Emily admitted softly. "I knew I shouldn't, I knew I was there to ultimately bring his father down so innocent people wouldn't be hurt. But even though I knew that, I wanted to do something to keep him safe, make him a little bit better prepared for life without his dad. And now he will be safe. I'm just sorry it took me so long to be in a place where I could do that for him."
"Things happen as they're meant to, Emily. Now, you've got a son all your own, and a family to help you take care of him. I'd say things worked out pretty well, all things considered.", Rossi told her. "Have you thought about which school he'll be going to?"
"I've got to call around to some of the local high schools, but I was thinking the one by the bureau. It would make picking him up from school so much more easy.", Emily considered. Rossi cringed.
"Emily, I know he'll be going by your last name, but once this hits the press, everyone in DC will know that an FBI agent has adopted the son of a terrorist. Never mind that you're the daughter of an ambassador, making him the grandson of said ambassador.", Rossi told her. "Do you really think public school is the best option?"
"I don't want to send him to some boarding school, Dave. I just got him back, I don't want to let him go again." Emily's words were just what he'd expected they'd be, and just like that, an idea formed in Rossi's head. He had to squash the urge to smile because the idea was perfect, but he knew he had to present it to Emily as logically as possible otherwise she would bolt.
"Have you thought about a private school in the area? There are some very good ones in the east end.", Rossi offered in a very casual way, and it was Emily's turn to cringe.
"Just thinking about the price tag for some of those places makes me sick, Dave. I get paid well, but not that well.", Emily answered. "Besides, that's all the way on the other side of the city. Getting him back and forth to school would be a nightmare in the early morning traffic."
"An old friend of mine is the headmaster of the Clayton Academy actually. If you wanted, I could give him a call." And by 'old friend' he meant 'old poker buddy/ son of a former drug runner he'd busted and given the options of coming clean and helping him catch his bosses or rotting in a federal prison for the next ten to fifteen years', but there was no reason Emily needed to know that. "And as for the commute, I live in that area, Emily. I could drive him in in the mornings and have my driver pick him up at the end of the day."
It wasn't as subtle as he wanted, but from the look of surprise on Emily's face, it did the trick. He stood in silence and waited as Emily's mind worked out just what he was saying, and when he saw the look of comprehension on her face, he smiled.
"Dave, I couldn't ask that of you.", Emily denied quickly. "I mean, Declan is my son and my responsibility. If I were to take that route, he'd be pretty much living at your place for five days of the week. With our work schedules-"
"Family, remember?", Rossi threw back at her, seeing her scowl at her words being used against her. He stepped up to Emily, and looked her right in the eye while taking one of her hands. "We'd find a way to make it work. Besides, who says I would mind having a bright young kid and his amazing mom living in my big empty house?"
Whatever Emily's reply would have been, it was lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth when he said that. "Dave.", she said shakily. "Are you-?"
"Emily, I meant it when I said I needed you more in those six months than you will ever know. I lost you once and I never said anything, and now it feels like I have a second chance to do this right.", Dave explained seriously.
"But Declan-"
"Declan is a part of you that I am more than happy to accept as a part of my life. He's your son, and if I love you, of course I can love him."
Dave was reasonably sure that, if it weren't for the hand that gripped her's, Emily would have fainted when she caught the word 'love'. "You don't mean that.", Emily quickly denied, though there was hope shining in her eyes.
"When have I ever said something I didn't mean, Emily?", Dave asked. "I've loved you since the moment I met you, and when I thought you were dead, it was like a piece of me died with you. You're back now, and damn it, I am not going to screw this up a second time."
"Dave, what are you saying?", Emily asked, and Dave could feel her hands shaking.
"I'm saying, Emily, that I love you, and I want to be with you. I don't know Declan yet, but he's yours and I love you and everything that is you, so naturally, I'll love him. Whatever you want to do, we'll do, but I wanted to at least be sure that you knew there are other options than doing this parenting thing alone.", Dave told her. "Granted, I have no idea what I'm doing, but between the two of us I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."
Emily chuckled and Dave could hear the tears she was choking back. She looked up at him. "Are you serious about this, Dave? You really want me and Declan to move in with you? After everything that's happened, and probably going to happen?"
"I can't think of anything I want more.", Rossi promised. "If it's what you and Declan want."
Emily bit her lip in thought, and looked towards the kitchen. She turned back to Dave and smiled slightly. "Let's take it one step at a time here, then. First, you can have dinner with Dec and me and after a while, once both he and I are used to everything, I'll talk to him about us moving in with you. It will take time though.", she warned.
"The two things I've got a lot of, Emily, are time and money, both of which I'm willing to spend waiting if it means I have a chance to be a family with you and Declan."
The smile that broke through Emily's face could have blinded him. "Then let's go introduce you to that son of mine. Dinner should almost be ready."
Rossi followed Emily into the kitchen to find the teenager sitting at the island table, reading through a book. He glanced up and smiled at the two, and the grin got wider when Emily kissed his forehead in passing. His eyes fell on Dave, and for split second, he would swear he was looking at Doyle. Then Declan smiled at him and nodded in greeting. "Dec, Dave will be joining us for dinner.", Emily told him, getting a pair of oven mitts from a drawer.
"Cool. About time you two came in here. I was wondering what was taking so long, I was getting concerned.", Declan told his mom as she walked to the oven. Rossi surveyed the interaction between the two and saw the protectiveness in Declan as he looked at his mom. They weren't actually related, but Rossi knew that a lot of Emily would end up in Declan by the time he was an adult.
Emily laughed, then pulled a lasagna out of the oven and put it on the counter top. (And if he hadn't been already, when Dave saw that the lasagna was homemade, he would have fallen in love with Emily Prentiss on the spot.) "Dave and I got to talking about you, of course.", she told him, nudging Dave to sit in the seat on Declan's right.
For some irrational reason, Dave felt like he was walking to the firing squad when he sat next to the thirteen year old. The only time he'd been so intimidated by someone nearly as young was when he found out that Reid was a super genius who knew more at twenty seven than he would at two hundred. He reminded himself that this was for Emily, and felt himself relax into the chair.
"I thought my ears were burning. All good things, I hope?", Declan laughed.
"No, I was telling him that you were a total brat who needs to put his shoes away before someone trips over them and breaks their neck.", Emily answered playfully, laughing at the indignant huff her son let out. "Dec, can you get the salad out of the fridge for me? Dave, I don't remember what salad dressing we have, but take your pick."
What followed was possibly the most normal dinner David Rossi had ever had, outside of his dinners with his mother and sisters. Emily and Declan told countless stories of their lives in Europe, and by the end of the night, Rossi was sure that under Emily's care, Declan would grow into another Spencer Reid. The kid had the same awkward sense of humor, and the same head for statistics and heart of gold. Suddenly, the fate of the world didn't seem so bleak; one Spencer Reid was a force to be reckoned with. Two of them would have the world whipped into shape faster than Hotch when he was in a bad mood and the budget committee was being a pain in the ass.
When the clock struck eleven, Dave excused himself and said that he needed to go back to his house and get some sleep. Emily told him she had to make a quick phone call to Garcia about a movie she, Garcia, Morgan, JJ, Will, Reid, Hotch, Jack, Henry and Declan were going to, and asked Declan to walk Rossi to the door. She went with them to the entry way then ducked into the living room, leaving the two males to their own devices. Rossi put his coat on, all while feeling like he had been thrown overboard without a life raft. He could feel Declan's eyes burning into him.
The teenager cleared his throat pointedly and Rossi internally sighed then turned to face him. He offered him a smile, and then saw the considering look on Declan's face.
"Something on your mind?", Dave asked. Declan frowned at something, then his face went blank before nervousness filled his eyes.
"You're in love with my mom." Dave was speechless. That saying about from the mouths of babes came to mind, but he couldn't remember the entire thing for the life of him.
He decided that like the mother, honesty was the best policy with the son. "Yes, I am. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Are you going to make her send me away?", Declan asked quietly. Rossi felt instantly relieved. Insecurity he could handle. Homicidal possessiveness was another story entirely.
"Even if I wanted to, which I do not, nothing I could do could ever make your mom send you away, Declan. She fought like hell to keep you safe and get you here; she's not letting you go for anything.", Rossi promised him. He only wished a quick death to anyone who did try to make Emily Prentiss do anything she didn't want to do.
"Are you going to hurt her?" A look of steel came into the teenager's eyes at that question, a look that made him look the very image of his father. Only the protectiveness and affection in those eyes reminded Rossi that Declan was not Ian. He was a scared child in a teenager's body, trying to do everything he could to protect his mom from anyone who would hurt her.
And, for some stupid reason, Rossi was actually thankful Cyrus had died in that fire. If the look in this kid's eye was anything to judge by, the cult leader would have been dead all over again for hurting his mom if Declan had got to him. He'd seen Ian Doyle in action, and for some reason, Rossi just knew that that viciousness could emerge in Declan if he was pushed far enough. He had a connection to Emily that went beyond blood; anyone who hurt her would undoubtedly push him to 'far enough'. Rossi made a mental note to ask Hotch and Morgan about taking the kid on in martial arts training; he knew from experience with Aaron that martial arts could do wonders to help a person find their center and keep their anger under control.
"Declan, hurting your mom is the last thing in this world that I want to ever do. When I thought she died, I wanted to go into that grave with her.", Dave explained.
"I know, I heard you. When you showed up, I heard you talking.", Declan admitted. Rossi was actually mildly surprised; normally, he could tell when someone was eavesdropping. He chalked it up to nerves clouding his judgment and left it at that.
"You heard everything?", Rossi asked, receiving a nod. "And what did you think about my suggestion?"
Declan looked away, then down at the floor. Rossi waited patiently, hoping that he was hiding how incredibly nervous he was. If Declan said no, there was no chance he'd be able to persuade Emily into moving in with him. The teenager looked up at him and there was faint hope and defiance in his eyes.
"You want both of us? You're not just using me to get to mom?", Declan clarified. If the situation hadn't been so incredibly serious, Rossi could have laughed.
"Declan, I've loved your mom for years. You're a part of her, and she loves you more than anything. I want both of you because without both, neither of you are complete.", Dave explained.
"Would you be my new dad?", Declan asked. Well, if that wasn't a loaded question, Rossi didn't know what was.
"If you wanted me to be.", was the fairest answer he could think of. "I know you already have a dad, but-"
"I don't have a dad. As far as I'm concerned, for what he did to my mom, he's nothing to me.", Declan interrupted him quickly. "But you... You'll make mom happy, right? You won't hurt her?"
"I'll do everything I can to make you both happy. And I'd never hurt either of you."
"She really likes you, you know." He hadn't known, but it was good to hear.
"Really?", Rossi asked, receiving a nod.
"Aunt Penny asked if mom wanted her to come over and help with dinner and mom said no, that she wanted to spend tonight getting me settled in.", Declan explained, looking awkward but inwardly happy that he had an aunt who cared about him. And it was then that a wave of guilt crashed into Rossi. He hoped he hadn't completely fucked everything up by coming there and interrupting their mother-son time. "And Aunt JJ came over earlier tonight to ask if Mom and me wanted to come over to her place for dinner, and mom said no. But when you showed up, she asked you to stay. That's how I knew she liked you."
He hoped he wasn't jinxing it, but at the earliest convenience he was going to tell Emily that her son could make one hell of a profiler. "Quite the insight.", was all he could say.
"And she told me all about you on the flight over here. She wanted me to know about her team and her family, so I wouldn't be totally unprepared.", Declan explained. "She told me you're the greatest at what you do."
"I wouldn't say the greatest. I'm alright, your mom is definitely in a class all her own.", Rossi denied. "So, what does this mean for my offer, Declan? Can I look forward to having you and your mom moving in with me in the near future?"
"As long as you don't hurt her and always keep her safe when I'm not there, I would be okay with that.", Declan answered slowly. "Mom said you had a dog. Is that true?"
Rossi didn't know where he was going with this, but decided to stay honest. It seemed to be working so far. "I do, his name is Mudgie."
"If we live with you, can I play with him? Like, throw sticks for him and take him running and stuff? I've never had a dog." There was a certain eagerness that always came over young children when it came to animals in Declan's eyes, and Rossi couldn't help the grin on his face.
Something in Rossi's heart melted at the words of this child, and if it wouldn't hurt Emily or Declan, he would have found Ian Doyle's prison cell and beaten him senseless. Again. His ruthless, destructive actions had made a once cocky little kid turn into a timid teenager, had hurt the one person in the world that he was supposed to be willing to give his life to protect. It was unbearably sad even for him to think about, but Rossi knew that with enough time with Emily, Morgan and Garcia, he would come out of his shell and recover from his father's actions. The sins of the father.
"Of course, he'd love to have someone to play with other than me. I'm not as young as I used to be.", Dave agreed, his smile widening when he got the sudden mental picture of a barbecue scene in his backyard. He imagined sitting on his back porch watching Declan, Jack and Henry play with Mudgie and Clooney, while Hotch, Reid, Morgan and Will argued good naturedly over who would do the grilling (In the end, he knew Hotch would win. Again, alpha male.). He could see Emily laughing with JJ and Garcia, who would be sitting on either side of her, her eyes following Declan all over the lawn making sure he was safe. He could picture with startling clarity Declan leading Jack and Henry around the backyard on a scavenger hunt or nature quest, keeping an eye on his new younger cousins. He hadn't realized how badly he wanted a scene like that until that moment, but then again, Emily Prentiss tended to do that to him.
A genuine smile broke onto Declan's face, and it was aimed at Rossi. He decided that he would be okay with being a dad and all that that entailed: Girl issues, sex issues, hell, knowing his luck, his son would end up having guy issues. (Which would be fine too, he'd just have to call Aaron to explain that one. Though, come to think of it, that would be pretty funny to watch the SSAIC explain.)
Then there was high school graduation, the inevitable breakdown he'd go through when Declan went off to college or university, college/ university tuition, when he moved out, when he got married, and those were the ones Dave could think of off the top of his head. But, if it meant that his son (Jesus, his son with Emily. He must have been dreaming.) kept smiling like that, he'd go through them all and more without complaint.
"It's mom's choice if we do move in with you, but I think I would like to.", Declan told him, and those words were all Rossi needed to hear to let a smile almost tear his face in two.
"Well, we'll let your mom make that decision, but my door is always open.", Dave promised, and neither men noticed the teary eyed brunette watching them from the living room who'd witnessed everything.
Emily smiled, and felt her heart beating a dance rhythm in her chest. Dave was there to stay. She knew that however much she wanted to move in tomorrow, it would take time to arrange for them to move in with him, and that it would require a lot of stick handling on the part of the bureau to make it possible. She also knew with an almost hilarious certainty that she was no longer a single parent to Declan Prentiss.
She looked at the two males conversing about European food and for a split second, she allowed herself to consider, 'Declan Rossi has a nice ring to it, too.'
AN: That's it, lovelies. Like I said, this one kind of took on a life of it's own somewhere along the line. I think it wound up being around 12 pages in OpenOffice. Let me know what you think, I was considering making this a series because I keep getting ideas for them! And now that I've written something with Declan in it, I feel the need to write more.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! Thanks for taking the time to read all that, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And now I need to get back to my school work. (Ugh. I maintain that they should just automatically pass me for being awesome. Is that so much to ask? xD)
Ta for now, lovelies! Have a wonderful night!
Much love,
Oracle. (L)